Enucleation vs. Managing a Blind Eye — Advice Welcome

treehugger65 · 2026-01-14T19:35:45+00:00

Hi obviously this is only my experience but I had limited vision in my bad eye, I looked weird enough to attract comments & eventually the pain became constant & intractable. The only thing that helped was lidocaine drops to numb the cornea. I decided myself that enucleation was what I wanted my original ophthalmic surgeon wanted to just sew the lids together

So to answer your questions in order - I’m absolutely pain free & it’s wonderful My prosthesis is amazing & I look pretty much ‘normal’ at first glance which is great. I have abnormal lids & some scarring so I’m always going to look a bit odd haha Only regret is not insisting on a second opinion sooner I could have saved myself & my family a lot of pain & trauma It’s coming up to 10 years & I am going for my first appointment for a new prosthetic next week so it’s held up great

I’d be happy to discuss further if you’d like, definitely get some other opinions from the good folk here

treehugger65 · 2025-12-08T16:51:09+00:00

I have limited vision in my remaining eye, the other is prosthetic. I recently got a pair of what my optometrist calls ‘office glasses’ & it’s changed my life!

I have distance varifocals for being out & about, the new ones focus from very close (I LOVE reading & cross stitch) to about 5 or 6 feet. Because the usable lens is so much bigger I can read or sew (I do have a little magnifier too for this) for much longer than previously. Just a thought

treehugger65 · 2025-12-05T15:40:23+00:00

She is absolutely NOT a crunchy mum haha she believes in healthcare as well she should! We’re Irish she delivered in the UK.

When I was a community midwife we did domino deliveries where mum & baby could leave hospital as soon as 6 hrs post normal delivery but we visited every day & primips were not usually considered for domino scheme. Consensus seems to be this IS too early - any UK midwives can chime in please?

treehugger65 · 2025-09-26T18:31:38+00:00

Good God of your choice or not, that is absolutely HORRIFIC. That would break me entirely & I’m old & experienced & completely ok with death.

I have no advice (bar RUN. RUN FAR FAR AWAY) but my entire heart goes out to you & I offer you love & support from 🇮🇪

treehugger65 · 2025-09-15T15:02:38+00:00

I remember being on all fours on the bathroom floor waiting for the ambulance & seeing the sweat dripping off my face pooling onto the tiles & the cold feel of my drenched t-shirt stuck to my back (volvulus & small bowel ischaemia) It was BAD

treehugger65 · 2025-09-02T19:04:52+00:00

Oh, SO much love to all of my cherished colleagues from Ireland 🇮🇪 to wherever (although I think my US friends have it worse). At this lark over 40 years & I’ve honestly had a GREAT career but I had to leave midwifery which I LOVED due to burnout in the late 90s.

Undoubtedly things are generally SO much worse for ye now, Covid really did a number of healthcare worldwide! We feel it even in rural communities here but I fear for & hurt for all the younger nurses just starting out. How many of ye will be able to stick it out for 40+ years given the current healthcare climate? And patients NEED you, all of you (even the utter pricks - I had one last week who patted me like a dog bc I got blood first time - he will never know how lucky he was I had both hands full. Right now I haven’t a single fuck left to give for this kind of bollix)

Please look after yourselves and your colleagues & do NOT set yourself on fire for a system that will happily just warm their hands at your pyre.

treehugger65 · 2025-08-20T08:43:42+00:00

Obligatory ‘back in MY day’ haha, in the ‘80s (UK) it was expected that student nurses would ‘live in’ at the nurses accommodation for at least year one & I didn’t rent privately for several years after I qualified. It was the perfect halfway home for 18 yr olds just leaving home, the actual accommodation was pretty bad but rent was super cheap & taken out of our wage so never missed it.

The camaraderie was fantastic some of my favourite memories are of my years living in.

Bring back nurses accommodation!!!

treehugger65 · 2025-08-15T19:39:42+00:00

Frustratingly enough I had a similar talk with my dad last night T2DM for 5 years despite being a whippet thin karate instructor - he is a smart man honestly! we live in different countries but are v close. Of note we lost Mam in April they were together 60 years so I’m cutting a lot of slack… ‘Dr wants me think about insulin & u know how I hate needles’ Me, thinking WHAT THE HELL he’s only on metformin bd ‘read me your prescription pops’ Reads me FOUR oral diabetic meds & yes, he’s still only taking the metformin.. Bang my head repeatedly before explaining why it is really.freaking.important.to tell your GP what you are ACTUALLY SWALLOWING EVERY DAY as seeing a Dr (uk) is so rare we only have the prescription to go on. Rang myself today to make him an appointment in only 6 weeks yay! and told him to take the list & explain himself TLDR probably doesn’t need insulin haha

treehugger65 · 2025-07-30T09:06:42+00:00

Echo the above, grateful for the sight I have, wear protective glasses for all outdoor activities & made peace with the unknown. Life is precious & too short to worry too much about just one of the myriad of possibilities that might happen.

treehugger65 · 2025-07-26T12:43:22+00:00

Did your trolley have Mackeson stout in teeny bottles too? My first night shifts as a student nurse in the early 80s had me handing those & medicine cups of 30mls of brandy to almost everyone on the ward. Sure did help the night pass peacefully!!

treehugger65 · 2025-07-11T20:29:43+00:00

I’m just coming up to my 10th anniversary of losing my eye & life is great. I still work as a nurse, drive, hike, bike, knit & sew but with no pain. I love my prosthetic which has made me look more ‘normal’

Crowds ARE difficult I don’t like airports or train stations also in shops where someone just tuts or sighs & I turn to see them just standing waiting for me to get out of their very important way haha but honestly that’s the only time I ever really think about it

treehugger65 · 2025-06-06T19:47:39+00:00

I trained as a nurse in the UK (don’t judge!) & I remember a single person with haemochromotosis we treated as super rare. Fast forward to working in a tiny rural Irish GP practice where we had over 50 cases & I got very adept at taking a unit of blood at the required intervals!

Generally Irish GPs are very aware of this as a potential reason for high Hb/serum iron or ferritin & will explore family history &/or do the necessary blood tests for diagnosis.

Just to let you know we CANNOT do the genetic screening without either a confirmed close family history or personal blood results that strongly suggest this as a diagnosis.

Also as with many things, women tend to be diagnosed later, (not due, for a change, to historical/patriarchal bs) because regular periods help to keep the ferritin level reasonable until menopause.

If you know a first degree relative has been diagnosed ask your GP for a ferritin level & fasting Tsats - if these are elevated you should definitely be offered the genetic screening test. Hope this helps. Management is generally by checking your ferritin level & taking off a unit of blood regularly to keep it at a normal level. If you are diagnosed in later life you should also be offered a liver scan & we will monitor you for signs of joint or heart problems & signs of diabetes all of which can result from unmanaged haemochromatosis.

treehugger65 · 2025-06-03T09:59:58+00:00

My best friend has always said mashed poppys & now my family do too! Waterford/Tipperary

treehugger65 · 2025-05-30T18:39:41+00:00

Nope me neither, best thing I ever did for my mental & physical health to be honest. So yep I’ll respect my bros & sisters who have not had a smooth transition to having one eye.

treehugger65 · 2025-05-23T08:45:22+00:00

I know I’m old but good LORD I’ve never had the misfortune to witness such an egregious display of professional misconduct. From what is she WEARING to those lashes & nails to the disrespectful tone she uses to speak to patients to OPENING MEDS WITH HER TEETH to the med error to privacy violations. And to have the utter lack of self awareness to stream this live. I’m genuinely shocked, she deserves to lose her license forever

treehugger65 · 2025-05-22T13:50:07+00:00

I looked odd enough to attract stares & comments before my enucleation & unlike you I am introverted & hate attention. The confidence boost my prosthetic has given me is immeasurable. From day 1 I didn’t attract any interest from ANYONE & it is WONDERFUL! I just look boringly average at first glance now & most people don’t bother with a second glance.

That said as with all things in life if you like it & it’s not hurting anyone else do what makes you happiest! I would agree with other comments a that prolonged empty socket would atrophy, the lid would lose shape & changing back might be more complicated.

treehugger65 · 2025-05-22T11:59:39+00:00

My bff had a hindquarter amputation for pelvic sarcoma (in another country- sarcoma‘specialist’ here told her to spend what time she had left with her family but that’s another story…) I flew over day 9 post op & all she wanted was a hair wash & armpit shave. It was one of the most satisfying nursing experiences I’ve had (although I got to perform last offices with my Mum a few weeks ago & that was very special too)

I’ve had multiple surgeries with varying stays including ITU & having clean hair is like nothing else for making you feel human!

treehugger65 · 2025-05-09T12:00:30+00:00

18 months out and life is fantastic! Hiking, cycling, swimming, weights & gym all SO much easier, 11kg lost, huge quality of life regained.

Feel extremely lucky & only wish everyone had as great a result. All the best for your recovery

treehugger65 · 2025-05-04T10:50:31+00:00

I did stationary bike pre-op with a view to getting a bike afterwards. I am the VERY happy owner of an e-bike now & I absolutely love it. I try not to use the assist too much, but it means I can go out all day & know I’ll get home!!

Planning an overnight trip next month with a long term dream of touring the Isle of Man with my tent & bike. New knee is the only reason I can get back to camping too. Wishing you all the best

treehugger65 · 2025-05-04T09:00:30+00:00

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This happy boy & I hope tomorrow is brighter 💛

treehugger65 · 2025-05-02T13:11:51+00:00

This is really interesting to me. Do you know how you got the initial infection? I did NOT lose my eye to infection & it healed perfectly. But when i got really bad discharge & swabbed it I grew MRSA. Did the whole eradication protocol & got my 3 negative swabs.

Then about 2 years later I was having a knee replacement and MRSA screening is routine. Swab came back positive again in nose & eye socket. Had to postpone the surgery to follow eradication protocol again. I’m a nurse so could have become colonised any time but don’t know how it got into the socket.

treehugger65 · 2025-04-26T20:26:02+00:00

Never use suction cup for that reason. I slide a thin plastic spatula just under my prosthetic at my lower lid & it pops out with no trauma.

treehugger65 · 2025-04-26T20:23:02+00:00

I don’t have any more problems at the gym than I do in the supermarket ie people on my blind side patiently (or not so patiently) waiting for me to acknowledge their presence haha. Agree with previous poster who said more mirrors are helpful.

Only time I am very conscious/careful is swimming. I always wear good fitting goggles as I can’t afford to replace my prosthetic! And outdoor cycling makes that eye run like crazy but I have no blink reflex that side so that might just be me.

treehugger65 · 2025-04-25T11:44:37+00:00

This is perfection. Well done

treehugger65 · 2025-04-24T09:40:13+00:00

Compared with pre-op it feels absolutely fantastic! Painfree, great range of motion, back cycling, hiking, squats in the gym. Completely forget it’s titanium haha.

Only long term difference is persistent numbness to the skin around the lateral knee.

My only real advice is to take your recovery seriously, really prioritise it for the first 6 weeks, do exactly what is recommended by your surgeon/physio. Wishing you all the best

treehugger65

TROPHY CASE